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Tuesday, July 01, 2014

The New Politics of Civilian Drone Regulation

Los Angeles, CA—As a long
time photographer, licensed private investigator and television journalist I
have to weigh in on drone regulation.

For me it all began for me as
a Chicago cop long ago.I’m also a Viet
Nam Era veteran.

First of all there are no
recorded deaths from the consumer drones that photographers are using.Injuries and property damage has so far been
so insignificant as to be totally off the radar.

Our drone cameras are no
different that your cell phone cameras.You have to get really close for a recognizable face shot.The cameras drone operators are using are not
suited for such portrait photography.
Privacy concerns are way over-rated and are only a figment of paranoid
imaginations.

Our drones are electric and are
not capable of making noise disturbances.

Yes, drones can be misused just
like rocks, scissors and paper.You can
make a weapon out of anything and cause damage or harm.Our simple drones are not weapons. Using a drone
to commit or facilitate a crime is and will always be a crime.

All of the needed laws are
already in place and have been for a very long time.

We only have privacy rights in
places where there is a reasonable expiation of privacy.Despite the NSA inside our homes and
businesses we are protected from spying by law.Stalking, harassment and disturbing the
peace laws already apply to everyone including drone operators.

Assault, manslaughter, and
endangerment laws are on the books everywhere.Reckless behavior with a drone or in any other way is already a
crime.Flying a drone in the near vicinity of manned
aircraft would be a crime under state and local laws everywhere.

Suddenly I see drone operators fearing bans suggesting
compromising our legal ability to fly our drones such as where people
exist.There is just no basis or
justification for that kind of restriction based on the fact that there are no
deaths or injuries happening.

These drones were considered
toys until they were married with the tiny cameras such as the GoPro.Suddenly drones became the subject of
over-imaginative conversation and news stories.People are going overboard and believe that
we now somehow need new bans and laws.

Drone operators need to
vigorously fight for what few rights we have left in America.

The new drone journalists
should be allowed to cover news like they are with pencils, typewriters,
computers, and conventional cameras.Camera drones are legitimate news gathering devices and should be fully
protected under the First Amendment.

We must never forget that
conventional aircraft and helicopters used by news kill people every year
somewhere.Drones are so much safer for
newsgathering not to mention only a tiny fraction of the cost.

The FAA needs to focus on
their current aviation duties.They want
to expand their bloated bureaucracy to cover every 12 year-old boy with a
remote controlled aircraft.That’s just
plain nuts!

Here is a little video I
created with a Phantom 2 drone with a GoPro 3+ camera at Carmel-By-The Sea.